Selective growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on nickel oxide nanostructures created by atomic force microscope nano-oxidation

Abstract

We report the selective growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on nickel oxide catalytic templates created by atomic force microscope nano-oxidation. Nickel oxide patterns are first produced on a nickel film by applying a negative bias to the tip. After removing unoxidized nickel, oxide patterns or nanodots with a smallest size of around 30 nm are successfully fabricated. Vertically aligned bunched or single CNTs with diameters of 30-80 nm are selectively grown on the oxide nanostructures by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition. It is also shown that the tube diameter can be effectively controlled by the dot size. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.